"I can't remember [us] scoring five goals in a game," said Alex Ovechkin after his two highlight-reel goals and an assist that gave him 600 career points. "Our power play finally worked. . . . Is kind of a big night."

Is kind of an understatement?

Just two weeks ago, after the Caps lost 6-0 to the New York Rangers to drop their record to 32-20-10, they heard home ice boos; then, not many in the NHL would've picked the Caps to go deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

What's wrong with Ovechkin? Will Coach Bruce Boudreau be fired? What's General Manager George McPhee going to do at the trade deadline? How could the Caps fall from the top-scoring team in the NHL last year (by 45 goals), to a club not in the top 20? And the power play: from No. 1 to No. 25 in a year?

All that seems changed. For now. Since McPhee added three key players at the trade deadline, the Caps haven't lost. We'll see how long it lasts.

"I hope it's about 47 more games," said Boudreau, who appears to have added the 14 games left in the regular season, plus enough to play for a Cup.

Depending on the month, the Caps are one of hockey's most talented teams with a bright future or they are one of the more overrated and in need of an overhaul. Right now, they're clicking. Has the light gone on - the light in their heads and hearts, not the just the red light behind the goal?

"We're [finally] playing like I thought we would," said team owner Ted Leonsis. "We thought we might take a little step backwards because we got a little younger with so many rookies. Now we've added veterans. We're getting healthier. That's why I feel good."

The Caps agree on the moment their season changed from frustration, self-doubt and criticism to a sense that luck's their 21st man. McPhee's most important deadline addition was Jason Arnott, 36, a 6-foot-5 center with 900 career points and his name on the Stanley Cup; a bruiser with skills.

With this reshaped team, the Caps were 48 seconds from losing again on March 1. One goal down against the Islanders, Boudreau pulled his goalie. Arnott battled for a puck in the corner, then threaded a pass to Brooks Laich for the game-tying goal.

"The clutch play Arnott made, a pass right on the tape to Laich," McPhee said. "Can one play change a whole part of the season? It did. It did."